Friday, February 1, 2008

Look! Gluten-free banana bread that not only rose nicely, it was completely baked in the crockpot. Color me surprised. Paint me surprised?

Well, whatever it is---I am surprised.

I was all ready to sacrifice this batter as an experiment. Gluten-free baking is so hit or miss, I completely expected this to flatten into a heavy brick. I'm actually a little annoyed with myself that I didn't attempt this well over a year ago.

I've gotten a few emails wondering why anyone would want to bake in their crockpot. At first I wanted to bake solely for the "neat" factor. But after attempting afew things, I am sold on crockpot baking for convenience. I love that I was able to pop this in and run errands---something I would never do with anything in the oven. I love that I can now set something to bake on low overnight and wake up to freshly baked coffee cake or somesort of baked loaf. I plan on baking a traditional (gluten free) bread loaf to see what happens.

My mind is spinning with all the possibilities.

The Ingredients:

I would make this the exact same way you would make a traditional oven-baked banana bread.

The Directions:

Follow your favorite recipe and dump batter into a prepared loaf pan. If you have a round crockpot and not an oval one, pick a round cake pan or corningware that fits snugly inside the stoneware.

Prop your lid open just a tad to let some steam out. I used a chopstick.

Cook on high for 4 hours,or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Carefully! remove the hot pan from the stoneware and let cool.

48 comments:

oh i've got a random crockpot question for you-do you find some recipes are soupier than you want them to be when you crockpot them? example, i made some chicken taco filling and had to take it out and put in skillet to get rid of some liquid and same thing last night when i made crockpot sloppy joes. sorta defeats the whole one pot situation...

Hi Kelly--yeah, unfortunately I do. I think it depends on how juicy your meat is. Are you following a recipe that asks for water added? Is it a crockpot recipe?If I cook meat by itself (like chicken pieces with some spices), I would probably only add 1/4-1/3 cup of liquid. If you open a lot to check on it, you might need to add more liquid.If you're cooking a big ol hunk of meat like a pot roast, you really only need 1/2 cup of liquid in order to cook the meat.

I made fish last night (recipe tomorrow!) in foil packets and didn't add any liquid, and it was very juicy all on it's own.

I was just introduced to your blog by my sister who keeps a look-out for great blogs. Your blog looks good....or is it just lunch time! I am gluten intollerant and am interested in your recipe for the banana bread. I want to try to bake in my crockpot, but I don't like my GF banana bread recipe. Can you help me out?

I use Pamela's Baking Mix as my all-purpose flour. If you have nut allergies, stay away from Pamela's because it has almond meal in it. I used the Zucchini Bread recipe listed on their site. I just used bananas instead of zucchini.xoxsteph

I bow to you, CrockPot Queen! You are my hero! I moved in with my boyfriend a few months ago and his oven does not work!! (The house is a rental and he has no desire in involve the landlord...) I love to cook and bake so needless to say this has been a trying period in my life, making meals without an oven and foregoing baking, except for the occasional toaster-oven trial and error. You have opened my eyes to a whole new world. I have always been a fan of the CrockPot, but now I have a million more ways to use it! I can't wait to make banana bread- my bananas won't rot fast enough!!!! YOU ROCK!

Hi Steph, I haven't personally done it, but I think it will take about 6-7 hours. My suggestion would be to try it on a day that you are going to be home and monitor it so you know how your batter and crock respond. Then do it next time overnight with the alarm set to turn it off or to warm at the alloted time.

I think I may need to try baking in the crock pot. I have an excellent banana bread recipe, but my oven has the wrong knob on it, so it lies about the temperature inside, I can bake but it doesn't always turn out right!

My husband and I live in a one room apartment in Japan, my kitchen consists of a mini fridge one stove burner and a sink. No oven. Making my beloved banana bread in the crockpot seems to be the only reasonable choice. Silly internet people just assume that everyone lives in a big house in the suburbs. There are a million reasons to bake in the crockpot!

Hi, Steph, I've been following you for a little while and just love your writing style. I always smile. Did you know that Rival or someone made a pan specifically for baking in the Crock? I had one for a long time, and MAY have gotten rid of it recently, only to be inspired by you!! Arg. It was round and a brass color with a lid that had little steam vents in it. It might be worth looking for if you plan to bake frequently.I used it a few itmes and it DID work. Mother Robin's Notes from the Nest

I use my crockpot to make Boston brown bread. Put a small amount of water in the bottom of the crockpot (about 1 cup). Pour the batter into a greased 6-8 cup flat-bottomed glass bowl and cover with foil. Poke a few holes in the foil. Put the bowl on top of the little wire rack that came with the crockpot. Cook on high for about 4 hours, or low 6-8 hours. This steams the bread perfectly. I use the Boston brown bread recipe from the Fannie Farmer cook book. A favorite in our house.

I just came across your blog and am very excited to think about using mine, since it reached 100 degrees here in New Hampshire! This is not a common situation, but needless to say I don't want to use my oven. Yuck!

I've also been looking longingly at bread machines, but I'm now wondering if the crockpot is just good for quick breads . . . or could I attempt to make some whole wheat bread? Any thoughts?

This is so cool! I used Cooking Light's Peanut Butter Banana Bread recipe (this month's issue) and even forgot to vent the lid for the first hour but it seems to be doing fine. My only real mistake was to use a pan that's too small because my regular loaf pan doesn't quite fit down into my 5.5Q cooker. Bits keep falling off into the crock and I have to scrape them out and eat them :-( It's amazing and I can't wait to try the CL Bananas Foster bread next. Thanks so much!

I love that I can now bake my banana bread in my crock pots. What a wonderful Idea. With it being in the 90's for so long I hated the thought of heating the house using the oven. As of right now I have 2 crocks going with bread in them. Thanks so much for all the hard work you have done. I have also just ordered your book and can't wait to get it.

hello i too am shocked at this i am a new crock pot user because of my current extended stay move... well your not allowed anything that has flames or can burn and i happened to find a three crock pots in one unit cheap. but my question to you about this recipe is what do you do if you have an oval crock pot? and i currently dont have banana bread recipe, but thank you soo much for your year of recipes because i have 2 liittle ones and a husband that would definitely appreciate another meal that is not soup ! and god bless you for your time

Licking the bowl is fine, just take grapefruit seed extract! Kills everything, even colds. I soak my fruits/veggies in water and gse drops and they stay fresh much longer. Washed strawberries in the refridgerator for two weeks? No problem, threw them away because they shriveled. NO MOLD! read more about gse here: www.pureliquidgold.comUse as antibiotic, anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, anti-viral on family, food, cleaning/disinfecting, and pets!

I made my own banana bread recipe and did it on high for 3.5 hours and it was dry....I was expecting it to take four hours!! I think next time it'll only need 3. It was still good, just not very moist. I think next time I'm gonna throw in another banana for good measure too!

If anybody is having a problem with more-than-enough juices in their crockpots, you could just add less liquid than what's called for OR you could keep your crockpot lid off for the last bit of cooking so the liquid will evaporate while still cooking. Can't wait to try this banana bread, btw! Now to look for a good recipe :D Thank you!